Academics say fat-bashing doesn't fly
Peter Munro Senior Writer
Obesity has been linked to low self-esteem, guilt and depression. A US study in 2010 found parents were less likely to help overweight offspring buy a car.
Public health campaigns, such as Western Australia's Live Lighter, make fat people ''feel disgusted about their own bodies'', Lupton argues. But Mike Daube, director of the Public Health Advocacy Institute, says they raise awareness about the significant health risks of obesity, such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Early feedback for the Live Lighter campaign is positive, according to the Heart Foundation in WA.
''We used to hear in the old days with our campaigns against smoking that we were stigmatising smokers,'' says Daube, professor of health policy at Curtin University. ''I think it is undoubtedly true that some people who are seriously obese feel a discomfort about that but … if two-thirds of us are overweight or obese then I find it hard to claim there is serious discrimination going on.''
Indeed, it is difficult to think of situations where the largest group in society considers itself a victim.
No comments:
Post a Comment